Chapter 34

Chapter 34
## Caius's POV

I moved silently through the underbrush alongside Beta Lucas, our wolf forms melding with the shadows. My senses—already formidable as an Alpha—were heightened to preternatural levels by the moon's influence, each sound crystalline.

The distinctive odor of my father's followers lingered in the air. With each careful step, the scent intensified, setting my nerves on edge and awakening memories I'd long tried to suppress.

"Alpha, these scents are fresh," Lucas observed, his golden wolf eyes scanning the darkness, muscles tense beneath his silver-tipped fur. "They're watching us. I can feel their eyes."

I nodded, feeling Max's restlessness coiling beneath my skin like a spring wound too tight. We'd been searching for hours, following elusive traces of unfamiliar wolves that had dared violate the boundaries of my territory. The forest floor was damp from recent rain, preserving footprints that told of multiple intruders moving with purpose rather than the random wanderings of loners.

After what happened to my mother, I wouldn't allow any threat to go unchallenged. My territory. My responsibility. My family.

We need to find them, Max growled within me, his voice deeper and more primal than my own thoughts. They attacked our mother. They deserve to bleed.

The sharp crack of a twig breaking caught my attention. I locked eyes with Lucas, signaling him to circle left while I moved right, our movements synchronized from years of hunting and training together. The moonlight filtering through the lattice of branches cast dappled shadows across the forest floor, creating a shifting mosaic of light and darkness that provided perfect cover for intruders—and for us.

My nostrils flared as a familiar scent hit me—musky and tinged with something acrid—the same odor that had clung to my mother's wounds after her attack. My heart thundered in my chest as I followed the invisible trail.

The path led to a dark cave nestled between the gnarled roots of two ancient oak trees, their massive trunks twisted together like lovers.

Max's fury bubbled beneath my skin, his anger manifesting as a low growl that rumbled from deep in my chest. The sound echoed off the cave walls, announcing my presence. Despite the rage burning white-hot through my veins, I maintained the cold calculation expected of an Alpha—observe, assess, then strike.

"You finally came," a voice echoed from the darkness, dripping with smug satisfaction.

I stood tall, shoulders back, allowing my Alpha presence to fill the clearing like an invisible flood.

"You have no right to enter Ash Pack territory," I stated, each word precise and edged with authority.

A figure emerged from the shadows, moonlight catching on the silver streaks in his dark fur. I immediately recognized him—Mordrek, a former pack member exiled years ago for challenging my authority and clinging to my father's brutal legacy.

"I have every right to return to what was once my home," he replied, lips curling into a smirk that revealed yellowed fangs. "These lands remember me, even if you wish they didn't."

"You lost that right when you chose to follow my father's ways," I countered, circling to keep him in view. "Why are you here, Mordrek? What do you want?"

Mordrek stalked slowly around the cave entrance, his dark fur glistening with an oily sheen in the moonlight. His movements were deliberate, each step calculated to project confidence while keeping distance between us.

"Some of your wolves contacted me, expressing concern about that Volana wolf—Elara," he said, watching my reaction closely. "They asked me to come back and handle the situation. Seems not everyone is comfortable with rare wolves in their midst."

I snorted in disbelief, ears flattening against my head. "I doubt anyone in my pack would seek your help. They've all accepted Elara's presence."

"Have they?" He paused, amber eyes glinting with malice. "It wasn't coincidence that you brought her to your territory, was it? She's your mate. I can smell her on you, even now."

I refused to confirm or deny it, unwilling to give him any leverage.

"I saw an older woman lurking near the Umbra Wastes," Mordrek continued, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "She reeked of Volana wolf. Tried to hide it with those suppressants, but the moon reveals all secrets eventually."

My breath caught, muscles tensing. My mother had been hiding her Volana identity for decades, taking suppressants that dulled her power and masked her true nature. The thought of her being discovered, being hunted, made my blood run cold.

"Did you attack her?" My voice dropped dangerously low, each word barely distinguishable from a growl.

The fleeting satisfaction that flashed across Mordrek's face confirmed what I already suspected. In an instant, my control shattered like glass. I lunged forward with explosive speed, Alpha power radiating from me in palpable waves that made the very air crackle as I shifted fully into my wolf form.

Mordrek anticipated my attack, twisting his body to dodge my slashing claws by mere inches. I pivoted with the fluid grace honed through countless training sessions, fangs tearing into the vulnerable flesh of his throat. My claws ripped through fur and muscle, drawing hot blood that steamed in the cool night air.

He kicked me away with powerful hind legs, sending me skidding across damp leaves. I recovered instantly, muscle memory taking over as I regained my footing.

"Your father would be disgusted by what you've become," Mordrek spat, blood matting the fur of his neck. "Ulric knew how to deal with threats. You've gone soft."

"I couldn't care less what Ulric would think," I growled, circling for another attack. "I chose a different path. His approval means nothing to me."

"If you want to be the best Alpha, you should embrace Ulric's methods," he taunted. "Rule through fear, not respect. That's how you maintain order when challenges arise. That's how you deal with abominations like Volana wolves."

I stood firm, hackles raised along my spine, each hair electrified with rage. "I will never become like him. I'd rather surrender my Alpha status than become the tyrant he was."

Mordrek attacked without warning, a blur of motion and fury. His jaws connected with my face, teeth slicing through flesh. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, warm and coppery, but I didn't falter. Years of teaching combat techniques to academy students served me well as I countered his momentum, using his own weight against him.

With a powerful twist, I pinned him beneath my weight, claws sinking deep into his shoulder blades. He thrashed and snarled, but I held firm, dominating him as an Alpha should. My rage intensified as I thought of my mother. I would avenge her pain. Justice would be served.

As I prepared to deliver a killing blow, searing pain erupted between my shoulder blades, a white-hot agony that tore through my back and extended through to my abdomen. I staggered away from Mordrek, suddenly disoriented, strength draining from my limbs like water. Mordrek began laughing, his eyes gleaming with malice in the moonlight.

I realized too late that he hadn't come alone. A human figure stood behind me, face obscured by shadow, and when I looked down, I saw the cause of my agony—a silver dagger protruding from my stomach.

Touching the blade sent waves of excruciating pain through my body, the silver burning my flesh like acid. I collapsed to my knees, then to my side, groaning as the poison of the metal seeped into my bloodstream. I'd been stabbed many times during combat training, but nothing compared to this torment—this feeling of my very essence being corrupted and destroyed.

My body involuntarily shifted back to human form, skin blistering where it contacted the silver. The transformation itself was agony, bones cracking and reshaping while venom coursed through my veins.

Mordrek and his companion stood over me, triumphant, their silhouettes black against the moon-bright sky. "This is just the beginning," he warned, voice thick with promised violence before they melted into the shadows of the forest.

The dagger... it's pure silver... Ulric's followers' weapon... Max's voice grew faint in my mind, our connection weakening as the silver worked its deadly magic.

We were both weakening rapidly, consciousness slipping away like sand through fingers. Without help, I wouldn't survive until dawn.